DisclaimerPhotos of New Year's and Brisbane will be added later as there has been some techinal difficulties so please check back at another time to view us rockin' out to the smooth stylings of Silverchair and relaxin' in Brisbane. Part 1: Newcastle I want to say one thing before I move onto New Year's is that anyone who is looking for a good laugh should watch the Australian miniseries We can be heroes. It is a show about finding the Australian of the year and if you have any sense of humor at all it will have you in stitches. Definitely [View Full Entry]

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That's right, kids. The Australians want you to know that they'd never "slip another shrimp on the barbie." Paul Hogan's got you all confused. Rather, they'd throw another "prawn." Please correct yourselves the next time you're tempted to say it; the Australians are quite upset. We've had another few lovely days in Newcastle. Some of you will be happy to hear I've seen my first batch of koalas and kangaroos. Kay took us to a wildlife park, and we were able to stare at all sorts of birds and animals. The koalas were cute and looked soft, but I got a [View Full Entry]

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So we have arrived in Australia. Our lovely friend Brad and his lady Lara picked us up from the airport drove us to see the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House and then we moved north to Newcastle, land of the O'Haras and Silverchair. Our first night was pretty tame and involved going to bed. Christmas Eve was a different story altogether. Brad and his amazing girlfriend Lara picked us up at 10:30 took us to the Chrissy Surf Comp (I did not compete as I felt that it was unfair to the other surfers). Brad did manage to score us [View Full Entry]

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Kate has far surpassed me in hospital visits. Unless South America hits me with multiple parasites or cases of malaria, she may have the win. She's only been sick twice though, so I might contest her total. It's not my fault it takes two hospital visits per illness before a doctor correctly diagnoses her. The latest illness was strep throat, so Kate is recovering at a steady pace. Do not fret. Onto Malaysia... we'd met a lot of smack talkers who said Malaysia was worthless. We disagree. Yes, it's Western-ish. We were amazed by the number of golf courses, billboard advertisements, [View Full Entry]

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Trekking After the trauma of crossing the border from Laos to Thailand I couldn't handle doing much more planning so I booked us on a trek for three days. The trek was by far the easiest of all treks physically but the constant complaining of some Dutch and Irish women put a damper on it. The trek began with squeezing 11 of us (the 2 of us, 2 Dutch women, 2 Irish girls, 2 boys from Essex, UK, a couple from Paris, and a lad from Manchester) into the back of a big rickshaw then driving two and a half hours [View Full Entry]

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We survived a semi-harrowing journey from Laos to Thailand, highlights including: 1) A speed boat ride against the current of the Me Kong. This consisted of six hours spent crouched in the fetal position, wearing a life jacket, helmet, ear plugs, and sunglasses (to keep bugs out of your eyes). Luckily, we had the company of three lovely men (a Swede, a Brazilian, and an Italian) to cheer us up at the food breaks, and stunning views of the rolling hills of Laos, so once the sun came out after the first hour, it became (uncomfortably) bearable and semi-enjoyable. Definitely a [View Full Entry]

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Vang Vieng seems to be a backpackers haven. There are tons. And for the first time on our trip it is filled with dudes. Not couples and chicks, but dudes. That being said, I think it has a fraternal feel to it. The town in and of itself is quite small and seems to have more tourists than Laos, but it is beautiful. The scenery is lush, it is how I would imagine Vietnam would look without the napalm. Anyway, we decided to do a kayaking trip down the Song River. When we got to the tourist office in the morning [View Full Entry]

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This keyboard is screwy, so forgive any questionable punctuation. We thought Hanoi was a beautiful city and enjoyed our daily strolls around the lake. Thumbs up to Hanoi. Perhaps our favorite major city in SE Asia. However, I have to give its museums a lukewarm review. First, I'll preface my reviews by saying that Kate and I were devastated we could not view Uncle Ho. We suspect his body might be getting touched up in Russia, but people kept telling us his mausoleum should be open. For those of you who don't know me, I have a creepy obsession w [View Full Entry]

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Our Journey to Ha Noi So we left Hue on Wednesday evening for an overnight bus ride to Ha Noi to be in a big city where we might possibly be able to have a proper Thanksgiving feast. The bus ride was something that I am now thankful for not having to do again. Our hotel was the last on the bus pick up list and because of that our seats were chosen for us not us getting to pick them. Moria sat next to an upper middle class Vietnamese man who has been living in Belgium and was quite chatty. [View Full Entry]

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Vietnam continues to be super. We are currently in the beach town of Nha Trang, waiting for our bus to Hoi An. To catch you up on our last few days in HCMC and Nha Trang... Caodai Holy See I had an unhealthy need to go to the Cu Chi Tunnels and get the typical tourist photo of myself popping out of the tunnel with the lid held over my head, so Kate indulged me. One of the day trips to the tunnels included a stop at the Caodai Temple, and we figured we'd give the place a shot for the [View Full Entry]

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